A FORMER Birkdale High student is struggling to adapt to civilian life after his dream career in the armed services was shattered.

A FORMER Birkdale High student is struggling to adapt to civilian life after his dream career in the armed services was shattered.

Charlie Steelsaid his experience since his medical discharge had been “disappointing” – and that included the pay-out he received from the Ministry of Defence.

ŠThe 25-year-old revealed he was given a lump-sum pension of £17,000, plus £5,000 compensation for the knee injury that forced him to leave his Royal Marines training in March.

ŠNot only did that injury rob him of indulging his passion for playing sports, he is now working in a job that pays “not much more than the minimum wage”.

ŠSumming up his experiences, Charlie said: “A lifetime ambition has been cut short.”

Growing up on Lonsdale Road, he decided from primary school that he wanted to follow his father and grandfather into military life. So at 16 he left school to start his training, eventually qualifying as a radio operator.

ŠAt 19, his service with 216 Parachute Signal squadron took him to his first combat zone, as Nato stepped in to try and stop the Balkan state of Macedonia being consumed by ethnic warfare.

ŠThen the Twin Towers fell on September 11, 2001 – and Charlie’s was one of the first British squadrons to arrive in Afghanistan during the unleashing of the ‘War on Terror’.

ŠLooking back with his wife Emma in the sitting room of his home in Queens Road, the couple – who married last August – identified Afghanistan as a turning point for Charlie.

Š“A lot of people said that’s when you seemed to see the effects (on Charlie),” said Emma, a primary school teacher in Liverpool.

ŠTours of duty in Iraq followed for him, but in 2004 Charlie decided he wanted a change: “I wanted to try life outside the Army, but only lasted 10 months as I couldn’t adapt or find a proper job.”

ŠIt was then he applied to become a Royal Marine – and was doing well in his training in Lympstone, Devon, when he fatefully damaged his knee. After nearly a year of attempted rehabilitation, Charlie accepted he would have to be medically discharged.

Š“They said I could probably complete training but there was an element of self-preservation,” he said.

“I wouldn’t want to be in the hills of Afghanistan or Iraq and find my knee going.”

ŠHe is now awaiting both the results of a scan on his knee and an assessment for post-traumatic stress disorder – his experiences having led to nightmares. That he was not assessed for post-traumatic stress on leaving the Army in 2004 shows “the system doesn’t work”, said Charlie.

ŠNow he has plans to embark on a letter-writing campaign with a senior member of Southport Royal British Legion, Derek Ravenscroft.

ŠIn April the Visiter reported Mr Ravenscroft was so angry about the size of the rise in his state pension he had posted the extra sum back to the then Chancellor, Gordon Brown.

ŠCharlie added: “There’s a lot worse cases than mine – people have lost limbs and their sight and the compensation has been tuppence.”